Flagship Communities Real Estate Investment Trust

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the flagship community's REIT first quarter 2024 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will hold a brief question and answer session for analysts and institutional investors. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded. Today's presenters are Kurt Keeney, Flagships President and Chief Executive Officer, Nathan Smith, Chief Investment Officer, and Eddie Carlisle, Chief Financial Officer. Please note that comments made on today's call may contain forward-looking information, and this information, by its nature, is subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the views expressed today. For further information on these risks and uncertainties, please consult the company's relevant filings on CDAR. These documents are also available on Flagship's website at flagshipcommunities.com. Flagship has also prepared a corresponding PowerPoint presentation, which it encourages you to follow along with during this call. And now, I'll pass the call over to Kurt Keeney. Kurt?

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

The momentum we generated from 2023 has carried into the early part of 2024. Not only did we see improvements in rental revenue, net operating income, and same community metrics, but we have achieved many major milestones to start the year, and we expect these accomplishments to help to reach future growth. A high priority to begin this year was to refinance our near-term debt, to maintain our conservative low-cost debt profile, and we were able to do just that. We refinanced our near-term debt at a lower fixed rate, resetting our interest rates for another 10 years. The cash proceeds were also used to pay off existing debt. Now we have no substantial debt maturities until 2030. Completing these refinancings at significantly better terms helped improve our financial position and speaks to the confidence our lenders have in our business and the MHC industry. Most important, these refinancings helped pave the way for the largest acquisition in our history. We entered into an agreement to acquire seven MHCs, which expands our existing footprint in Tennessee and establishes a new presence in the West Virginia market, representing the eighth contiguous U.S. state where we operate. Nathan will elaborate during his remarks, but these acquisitions are the largest in our history and create an opportunity to become a market-leading owner by strategically expanding our footprint into adjacent and new markets, both of which enable us to maximize our existing synergies and leverage economies of scale. We first began operating in Tennessee in 2019 and have strengthened our presence in that state while entering Nashville, one of the hottest, fastest-growing markets in the U.S. We will also form a foothold in a new market, West Virginia, by establishing a presence in three distinct locations with five communities in that state. These were off-market transactions that represent a generational opportunity that position us well for future acquisitions. We remain confident in the underlying fundamentals of the MHC industry. Manufactured homes are a very appealing and low-cost effective option for many Americans. Our customers enjoy homes that are detached structures that do not share walls, utilities, air conditioning, or heating with any other homes. These homes include two, three, and four bedrooms, typically with two bathrooms. They also have a deck, yard, driveway, and in-home laundry facilities, all for less than the cost of renting an apartment. Providing affordable housing and an exceptional resident living experience is Flagship's corporate mission. And we recently published our fourth ESG report, which articulates our sustainability strategy and initiatives to help make that mission a reality for our residents. The report also outlines our commitments to our unit holders, employees, and communities through initiatives such as renewable energy, education, and household amenities. You also find details on our diversity programs and governance. Please visit our website to read the report and learn more about our ESG commitments. I will now turn it over to Nathan to provide more details on our recent acquisitions.